how crucial is it to wax after you clay

[stunta666]

I picked up the meguires clay kit to remove a couple spots on my truck, do i have to wax right after or can i wait a couple days? Reason is i can't spend a whole day doing both.

[The Cosworth]

my understanding is that you remove everything down to the clearcoat. so if you were to leave it after claying you would have a couple days worth of stuff sitting on your paint eating away at it

[bobby_lu]

i like to wash, clay, wash, then go with whatever your paint cleaner your need (ie swirl remover)..then polish then wax...

[LMVantage]

Yes, it is ideal to wax right after you clay bar before taking your vehicle out, but will waiting a day or two kill your car? Nope. One way you could think of it is that you're taking your paint back to how it was when it was initially detailed at the dealership. They rarely wax cars before you buy them, and instead opt to charge you a high amount for the service. Using a clay bar is simply cleaning the clear and removing the contaminants and whats left of the old wax.